This Saturday: Scarlett Turns Samba

Posted: January 28th, 2011 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Bars & Nightlife, Upcoming Events | Tags: Hotel G, Scarlett | No Comments »

This Saturday night, Scarlett hosts a Samba-theme party with 2-for-1 drink specials from 10PM-1AM on the following cocktails: Caiparinha, Mai Tai, Scarlett Samba and Whiskey Sour.

Don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, January 29
• Time: 10PM-1AM
• Location: Scarlett Wine Bar & Restaurant (Hotel G)
• Address: 1st floor of Hotel G, No. A7 Gongti Xilu, 工体西路甲7号
• Tel: 6552-2880
• www.hotel-g.com

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Gung Ho! Gourmet Pizzas & Goofy Gimmicks

Posted: January 28th, 2011 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Gung Ho! Gourmet Pizza Factory, Jade Gray, John O'Loghlen, pizza | 8 Comments »

Gung Ho! Pizza Factory is one of Beijing’s few dining establishments that just gets it.

Yeah, their pizza is fantastic, they’ve got a great selection of pizzas on their menu to please a wide range of taste buds, they have great delivery service, yada yada, but above all, they are not too cool for school.

Owners Jade Gray and John O’Loghlen are super chilled out, their “marketing ninja” Rich Akers is super fun and their engaging brand personality just exudes awesomeness.

I dig all their goofy gimmicks, which really is the secret to effective marketing. And when Gung Ho! combines catchy gimmicks with brand identity together with a quality product, they’re killing it.

“It’s great tasting healthy gourmet pizza made from the freshest ingredients, hand-picked by uh, pandas and thrown together with Zen-like carelessness. And yes, we also hand-pick the uh, pandas.” – Gung Ho! on their pizzas

I ordered Gung Ho! by delivery for lunch after drooling over their fun and mouth-watering website.  The delivery was decently quick and the guy was really sweet.

Gung Ho! Delivery Service

The Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Pizza came highly recommended and it did not disappoint!  I love the wholewheat crust option and never have I had such a creative and original pizza! The pizza came topped with “pumpkin and sweet potato, forcibly infused with Rosemary, roasted and topped with spinach and pine nuts” and the combination of flavors is remarkable.

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Pizza (M: RMB 55, L: RMB 70)

Other cool pizzas on their menu include their Spinach Pesto Pizza with pesto made from scratch, Chicken & Camembert Pizza and they even have a Beijing Duck Pizza.

If you dig their pizza style, you’ll also enjoy their fantastic salads.  My pick is their Summer Salad with Xinjiang pear, blue cheese, walnuts, frisee salad served with their own sherry honey vinaigrette.

Gung Ho! also makes all their pastas fresh with spinach pasta noodles in either “thick-ass pappardelle or skinny tagliatelle depending upon what you’re into”.

Spaghetti Bolognese Pasta RMB 50

Overall, I highly recommend Gung Ho!’s pizzas, salads and pastas (basically their entire menu).

My only qualms are that when the food was delivered, it was not in fact “12″ of HOT satisfaction” (as advertised)…because it was not hot, but rather warm. (nothing a pop in a microwave couldn’t fix, but it should still be received at a higher temperature).

Also, upon delivery, every order was a surprise payment price because the website’s prices are not listed very clearly.  Originally, we saw that basic pizzas were RMB 40 for medium size and RMB 55 for large, but bill for large Pumpkin and Sweet Potato came out to RMB 70. Totally worth the price, but they should just make it more clear to the customers.  Same story with the pasta – we thought price was going to be RMB 40, but we did not realize that a few of the pastas are actually RMB 50.  A mix-up that could easily be touched up would make a world of difference.

Review of Gung Ho! Gourmet Pizza Factory: Behind Hooters on east side of Gongti, 101 Building 3, China View, 2 Gongti East Road, Sanlitun, 工体东路2号中国红阶大厦3号楼101室(在猫头鹰后边), Tel: 8587 1404 / 8587 1370

Best Part:

• Founders/owners Jade and John steal the show with their winning personalities

• Original pizza creations and combinations – try the Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Pizza
• Try their light wholewheat crust “made from our own signature blend finely milled flour. Easy on the eyes, even easier on the hips”
• Their pastas are also made from fresh, Spinach pasta
• Super friendly service
• They deliver to a big delivery zone (click here to view)

Comments:

• Menu prices are not listed that clearly on the website so be a bit careful when you are ordering.
• I have yet to visit their actual store location behind Hooters on the East side of the Worker’s Stadium, but I hear I’m not missing out on anything.
• In comparison to Beijing’s other pizza joints, Gung Ho! is a little bit on the pricier side, but I say well worth it especially with great options like whole wheat crust pizza and great salads and pasta options as well.
• Delivery times from 11AM-Midnight

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: N/A (got delivery)
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 8

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